Yuqin Zou
Graphical Abstract
“My motto is it is better to carry a light than to complain in the dark … I recharge my batteries by entirely relaxing, staying at home to sleep, and playing with children …” Find out more about Yuqin Zou in her Introducing … Profile.
Yuqin Zou
The author presented on this page has published her first article as a submitting corresponding author in Angewandte Chemie:
“Salting-Out Aldehyde from the Electrooxidation of Alcohols with 100 % Selectivity”: L. Xu, Z. Huang, M. Yang, J. Wu, W. Chen, Y. Wu, Y. Pan, Y. Lu, Y. Zou, S. Wang, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2022, doi.org/10.1002/anie.202210123; Angew. Chem. 2022, doi.org/10.1002/ange.202210123.
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Position:
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Professor, Hunan University
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Homepage:
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ORCID:
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Education:
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2005–2009 Undergraduate studies, Shanghai University (China)
2009–2012 Master with Yong Wang, Shanghai University (China)
2012–2017 PhD with Robert Dryfe, The electrochemistry of graphene, The University of Manchester (UK)
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Research:
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Organic electrocatalysis
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Hobbies:
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Movies, shopping, playing games
I chose chemistry as a career because chemistry is a convenient subject that supports the development of modern society.
The most important factor in the choice of my current research topic was that organic electrosynthesis offers a pathway toward a more sustainable chemical industry because dangerous and toxic redox reagents are replaced by an electric current. It is efficient, clean, and green and has both scientific research value and realistic prospects.
A key experience in my education was the study at the University of Manchester.
In five years, I hope to have become a young scholar with recognition in the field of organic electrochemistry.
The biggest change in my scientific working environment in the past 10 years has been the transition from student to teacher.
When I want to treat myself to something, I have an expensive dinner.
I recharge my batteries by entirely relaxing, staying at home to sleep, and playing with children.
If I were not a scientist, I would be a businessperson. I think investing is very interesting.
My biggest motivation is that my work is approved by the academic community.
My favorite time of day is the period before going to bed.
If I could be described as an animal it would be a puppy.
I celebrate success by buying myself something that I usually think is too expensive.
My motto is it is better to carry a light than to complain in the dark.
The most important quality of a role model is optimism and self-confidence.
My favorite musician is Taylor Swift.
Behind the Science
Water is an environmentally friendly, inexpensive solvent. As an electrolyte, it provides a high current to ensure that organic electrocatalysis can be industrialized. However, water may cause problems sometimes. The major obstacle in selective electrooxidation of alcohol is that water attacks the produced aldehyde and oxidizes it to acid. One day, an idea popped into my head: if the water is going to mess up, why don't we tether it? Thus, we increased the concentration of salt, which is hydrated, bound water molecules, and inhibited water from participating in the reaction. Then, a highly selective aldehyde formation was achieved.
